NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
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Fostering Cultural Participation of Persons with Disabilities in the European Union Through Funding: ‘I Was Told There’d Be Cake’
No full text: I. Introduction. II. Cultural Participation of Persons with Disabilities in the CRPD: A Frame and a Benchmark. 1. The Key Features of the CRPD. 2. The Right of Persons with Disabilities to Participate in Cultural Life in the CRPD. III. Methodology. 1. A Socio-Legal Approach. 2. Methods. IV. Cultural Participation of Persons with Disabilities at the Intersection between EU Disability and Cultural Policies. 1. Cultural Participation of Persons with Disabilities in the EU Disability Acquis. 2. Cultural Participation of Persons with Disabilities in EU Cultural Policies. V. Fostering Cultural Participation through EU Funding: The Role of the Creative Europe Programme. 1. Supporting Cultural Participation of Persons with Disabilities through EU Funding to the Cultural and Creative Sectors. 2. Supporting Cultural Participation of Persons with Disabilities through Creative Europe. 2.1. Good Practices, Tangible Advancements and Potential. 2.2. Weaknesses and Flaws. VI. Concluding Remarks
Mesenchymal stromal cells can block palmitate training of macrophages via cyclooxygenase-2 and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist
No full textInnate training of macrophages can be beneficial for the clearance of pathogens. However, for certain chronic
conditions, innate training can have detrimental effects due to an excessive production of pro-inflammatory
cytokines. Obesity is a condition that is associated with a range of increased pro-inflammatory training stimuli
including the free fatty acid palmitate. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are powerful immunomodulators
and known to suppress inflammatory macrophages via a range of soluble factors. We show that palmitate training of murine bone-marrow-derived macrophages and human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) results
in an increased production of TNFa and IL-6 upon stimulation with lipopolysaccharide and is associated with
epigenetic remodeling. Palmitate training led to metabolic changes, however, MSCs did not alter the metabolic
profile of human MDMs. Using a transwell system, we demonstrated that human bone marrow MSCs block palmitate training in both murine and human macrophages suggesting the involvement of secreted factors. MSC
disruption of the training process occurs through more than one pathway. Suppression of palmitate-enhanced
TNFa production is associated with cyclooxygenase-2 activity in MSCs, while secretion of interleukin-1 receptor
antagonist by MSCs is required to suppress palmitate-enhanced IL-6 production in MDMs
Optimisation of heterogeneous wave energy converter arrays: A control co-design strategy
No full textThe commercial development and deployment of wave energy converters (WECs) will require arranging these
devices in groups known as ‘arrays’, similar to the deployment other large-scale renewable energy systems, such
as wind farms, or tidal arrays. This study explores a novel control co-design (CCD) strategy for heterogeneous
arrays of point absorber-type WECs, focusing on the simultaneous optimisation of buoy hull geometry and
array layout to harness multi-directional wind and swell wave energy. The WEC array operates under a newly
developed global centralised control algorithm, which supports displacement constraints, but allows for the
assessment of array performance in the frequency domain. This approach has the potential to significantly
speed up the numerical solution of the control co-design optimisation problem, compared to more traditional
time-domain-based methods. The array optimisation problem is solved using a global optimisation method.
The performance function aims to optimise the positive network effect of interactions between devices in the
array, while simultaneously considering cost issues, quantified by device sizes. The investigation identifies
optimal device geometry and array layouts for clusters of three, four, and five WECs, in two different wave
climates: Irish and Portuguese coasts, allowing the sensitivity of optimal solutions to different wave climates
to be studied
Co-Creating Change: Seedbed Interventions as Catalysts for Equitable Urban Planning—The Case of Umeå
No full textThe ongoing urbanisation and densification at the intersection with increasing environmental and health crises demand a holistic, equitable, and inclusive approach to urban planning, which has also been highlighted in the EU Green Deal’s inclusive approach to sustainable urban planning aligned with the UN SDGs’ “Leave No One Behind.” This article introduces the seedbed intervention as a novel, community-driven, co-creative approach to Nature-based Solutions (NbS) that addresses gaps in equitable and inclusive urban planning frameworks. On the case of Umeå (Sweden), the article introduces the seedbed intervention approach and demonstrates how the approach facilitates the development of locally appropriate and sustainable NbS. The results show that the seedbed intervention approach improved the alignment between local needs and NbS design, connected diverse user groups, and catalysed curiosity, interest, and participation among citizens with the help of applying art-based methods. By demonstrating the practical application of a seedbed intervention, this research contributes to the development of scalable frameworks for more equitable and inclusive urban planning
The Teresa Deevy Archive and the Development of Collections and Curation in Maynooth University Library: Critical Perspectives on Teresa Deevy
No full text‘The Teresa Deevy Archive and the Development of Collections and Curation in Maynooth University Library’ outlines the traditional library role and approach to archival collection of Maynooth University Library (MUL) in the context of Maynooth University (MU) and Saint Patrick’s College Maynooth (SPCM). It argues that, in recent decades, MUL has developed curatorial holdings and special collections to better reflect a long-standing commitment to scholarship and activism in areas of social justice, focussing particularly on the theme of the outsider. The chapter reflects on the evolution of this collections development strategy and positions the Teresa Deevy Archive as a case study of sorts, exemplifying current collection policy orientation and practice. Focusing on collection management since the beginning of the twenty-first century and identifying the advantages of a planned strategic approach to collection management, the chapter considers how MUL’s special collections evolved and the identification of the multidisciplinary theme of ‘The Outsider’—a categorisation left deliberately loose to encompass individuals whose work or social and/or political contribution was either marginalised, or considered marginal, within their lifetime or after their death. Teresa Deevy’s life and work and the value of her archive is considered in this light, and the story of how her archive came to be held and conserved by MUL and some of the curatorial decisions made are in relation to it are detailed. The challenges and impacts of curatorial decisions and practice are illustrated through this narrative as are the complexities of where and how scholars access the Teresa Deevy Archive, in particular, and archives, generally. The chapter concludes asserting the importance of stakeholder involvement in matters of special collection acquisition, curation, and access and the ironic success in identifying the theme of ‘The Outsider’ in relation to improving engagement with the archives of figures such as Teresa Deevy
Reaching out: Exhibition: An Damer a landmark in Irish Theatre
No full textAn exhibition to mark Seachtain na Gaeilge 2025, was presented by Special Collections & Archives at Maynooth University Library, about the Damer Theatre. An Damer was an Irish language theatre operated by Gael Linn in the Unitarian Church, Saint Stephen’s Green, Dublin from 1955 until 1981
“Here Lads, this is the story!”. An exploration into access practitioner knowledge and community engagement within Irish higher education
No full textThis research explores higher education access practitioner knowledge, investigating the relationship between access practice and community engagement. The research delves into the world of HEI access practice, it looks at how access can be enhanced drawing on the knowledge from professional access practitioners and communities that experience disadvantage.
Access practitioners have been working within Higher Educational Institutions in Ireland since the late 1990s. Despite equity of access being a strategic priority of the Higher Education Authority and policy and funding commitments by the Government to address educational inequalities, there remains inequalities in our society that have deep levels of educational disadvantage. As an access practitioner for over two decades, this research explores with access colleagues and community participants if and how community engagement practices could enhance access practices.
This research stands within a critical tradition, interested in questions regarding equality and power. Using qualitative research methods with community participants and access practitioners, the reality of the access role is depicted, alongside the untapped access opportunities that exist within communities. In-depth interviews with practitioners and community workshops using participatory research methods (photovoice) were undertaken. Research participants explored themes relating to educational disadvantage, access to higher education and community engagement.
The research found that access practice at institutional level is significantly impacted by neoliberal government policy and new managerial practice. The empirical evidence from this research points to difficult working conditions, inappropriate institutional positioning, and pressures on time for access practitioners, all of which limits real meaningful engagement with communities that are under-represented in higher education. Access practitioners are working with limited resources, and with time specific funding streams, which have negative consequences for community engagement. Communities have been on the receiving end of this hurried approach, resulting in very few opportunities for meaningful, collaborative and respectful engagements, where HEIs and communities can
together, as equals, address issues relating to educational disadvantage. New principles for access and community engagement for access professionals are presented
Profit-seeking solar geoengineering exemplifies broader risks of market-based climate governance
No full textDespite uncertainties about its feasibility and desirability, start-up companies seeking to profit from solar geoengineering
have begun to emerge. One company is releasing balloons filled with sulfur dioxide to sell “cooling
credits”, claiming that the cooling achieved when 1 g of SO2 is released is equivalent to offsetting one ton of
carbon dioxide for one year. Another aspires to deliver returns to investors from the development of a proprietary
aerosol for dispersal in the stratosphere. Such for-profit solar geoengineering enterprises should not be understood
merely as rogue opportunists. These proposals are not only scientifically questionable, and premature in
the absence of effective governance, but they are a predictable consequence of neoliberal, market-driven climate
governance. The structures and incentives of market-based climate policy - circumscribed by neoliberalism’s
emphasis on technological innovation, venture capital, and the marketization of environmental goods - have
generated repeated efforts to profit from various forms of geoengineering. With a climate governance regime
wherein private, for-profit actors significantly influence and weaken climate policy, de facto governance of solar
geoengineering has emerged, dominated by actors linked to Silicon Valley funders and ideologies. Without more
explicit efforts to curb the power of private sector actors, including commercial geoengineering bans and non-use
provisions, pursuit of techno-market “solutions” could lead to both inadequate mitigation and increasingly risky
reliance on geoengineering
Forest expansion and irrigated agriculture reinforce low river flows in southern Europe during dry years
No full textThis study analyses the evolution of annual streamflow across Europe between 1962 and 2017, focusing on the connection of streamflow trends with climate dynamics and physiographic and land cover characteristics and
changes. The spatial pattern of trends in streamflow shows strong agreement with the spatial patterns of climate trends, suggesting a climate control of these trends. However, analysing temporal evolution at the basin scale
shows that the strong decrease in streamflow in southern Europe cannot be directly associated with climate dynamic. In fact, a negative trend related to non-climate factors clearly emerges. Rather, we show that forest
growth and irrigated agriculture are the leading drivers of negative streamflow trends in southern Europe, particularly during dry years due to the greater proportion of green water consumption compared to blue water
generation. These findings have significant implications, particularly in the context of widely embraced nature based solutions for mitigating climate change, including carbon sequestration through forests and the planned
expansion of irrigated agricultural lands in central and northern European countries as a response to rising crop water demands. These developments could potentially diminish water resources availability, leading to an
increased occurrence and severity of low flow periods
The Long‐Term Effects of In Utero Exposure to Rubella
No full textA rubella infection in early pregnancy poses a significant risk of damage to the foetus. In this paper, we examine the later‐life impact of a rubella outbreak that occurred in Ireland in 1956. Matching the outcomes of individuals born in 1954–1957 in the 2016 Irish Census of Population to the county‐level rubella incidence rate that was prevailing when respondents were in utero in early pregnancy, we find that one extra rubella case per 10,000 population is associated with between 0.4% and 1.2% point increases in the probability of having lower levels of educational attainment, being in poor health and having a disability in later life